To the Editor:

In response to “Calculating Who’s Green,” Mailbox, April 10, Sustainable Princeton is so pleased that Regatta Row is indeed the first street in Princeton to have each of its four homes turn food waste into rich beautiful compost! Congratulations!

We recognize that not everyone has the time or desire to maintain a compost pile in their yard, which is why the town has introduced “Princeton Composts” a curbside food waste pick up program. Since February, “Princeton Composts” has kept an average of 60 tons of food waste from the landfill, with 560 households already participating in the program. We need to keep these numbers growing!

We are watching closely for the grand prize winning street. Jefferson Road is still in the lead with 20 households participating in this program. Dodds Lane is a close second with 14 homes and Mount Lucas and Hawthorne are tied at 10 households each!

Through the Princeton Composts program, which is the first of its kind in the state, residents can throw bones, pizza boxes, paper plates, weeds, waxed cardboard, cooked foods and kitchen scraps into the curbside bin and roll it to the curb for a weekly pick up. Many of these items are not recommended for a backyard pile.

I have a family of five and “Princeton Composts” has been eye opening for us. Our trash bin is almost empty each week, other than styrofoam, tin foil and hard plastics that are not recyclable. And soon, we will receive our own dark, rich compost through “Princeton Composts” to spread on our vegetable garden.

Residents are encouraged to sign up soon at 688-2566 to keep “Princeton Composts” a growing part of our sustainable community.

Diane Landis

Executive Director, Sustainable Princeton